Theory and Methods of Human Geography
What kind of human geographer do you want to be? Justify by discussing the types of theoretical and social problem that you think are most relevant to the discipline today?
Economic Geography has always been an integral part of human geography. ‘Economic geography is usually regarded as a subfield of the discipline of geography, although recently economists such as Paul Krugman and Jeffrey Sachs have pursued interests that can be considered part of economic geography’ (Clark et al, 2002). Economic geography mainly represents two subfields which are closely associated to each other but they also have some major differences. Economic geography is first referred to as geographers who are working on spatial questions, with a synthetic approach from sociology, economics, political science, and history. Secondly, it is related to regional science with economists working on spatial models. In more recent years, economic geography has taken a step toward critiques of the Marxist social and economic theory.
This paper aims to investigate these theories and identify the types of theoretical and social problems that can occur within the discipline of economic geography, an area of particular interest to me. ‘The main trouble with theory is that people will insist on making such a song and dance about it, but…. the intention of theory is to make thinking easier, not more difficult.’ (Shurmer-Smith, 2002). Theory is a fundamental part of any research and allows the researcher to construct the basis of their work. Theory is required to make a sense of things no matter what discipline is being researched; theological models can be used and then linked with research in order to create a better understanding into the way things work. The way research is conducted and the questions that are asked during research are all based on the theory behind that subject.
Historically human geography has always been influenced by changes in all aspects of the social sciences. It began as a
Economic Geography has always been an integral part of human geography. ‘Economic geography is usually regarded as a subfield of the discipline of geography, although recently economists such as Paul Krugman and Jeffrey Sachs have pursued interests that can be considered part of economic geography’ (Clark et al, 2002). Economic geography mainly represents two subfields which are closely associated to each other but they also have some major differences. Economic geography is first referred to as geographers who are working on spatial questions, with a synthetic approach from sociology, economics, political science, and history. Secondly, it is related to regional science with economists working on spatial models. In more recent years, economic geography has taken a step toward critiques of the Marxist social and economic theory.
This paper aims to investigate these theories and identify the types of theoretical and social problems that can occur within the discipline of economic geography, an area of particular interest to me. ‘The main trouble with theory is that people will insist on making such a song and dance about it, but…. the intention of theory is to make thinking easier, not more difficult.’ (Shurmer-Smith, 2002). Theory is a fundamental part of any research and allows the researcher to construct the basis of their work. Theory is required to make a sense of things no matter what discipline is being researched; theological models can be used and then linked with research in order to create a better understanding into the way things work. The way research is conducted and the questions that are asked during research are all based on the theory behind that subject.
Historically human geography has always been influenced by changes in all aspects of the social sciences. It began as a
Bibliography: Castree, N. (2005); Nature, London, Routledge. Clark, G.L., Feldman, M.P. and Gertler, M.S. (2002) The Oxford Handbook of Economic Geography. Oxford University Press Forsyth, T Hajer, M.A. (1996) The Politics of Environmental Discourse, Oxford University Press, 1995 Harvey, D Hoborek, A. (2007); After Postmodernism, Twentieth Century Literature, 2007. Johnston, R.J., Gregory, D. and Smith, D.M. (1994). The Dictionary of Human Geography, (3rd edition). USA: Blackwell. Mayhew, S. (2004) Positivism; A Dictionary of Geography, Oxford University Press Robbins, P; Hintz, J and Moore, S.A, (2010) Social Construction of Nature, in Environment and Society, Robbins et al (ed), Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester. Shotwell, J. T. (1939) The History of History; (NY, Columbia University Press, 1939) p. 172 Tobler, W